Hello, my friend and welcome back! I always see ads about these new power sources you need to buy… Hogwash! There is one, however, that you may have actually overlooked. One that was instrumental to the growth of America! This is the subject of today’s post, so grab yourself a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
So what is this wonderful power source I’m speaking of? It’s Steam and it is what powered the development and industrialization of America. Everything from steam-powered tractors and other equipment to the Great American Locomotive. Steam power is what they use and what you too can use to run steam-powered electrical Generators, water pumps and a vast group of other items as well.
Steam is simply created by heating water until it boils and then capturing the steam created to power your equipment. With very little work, it could easily be used to replace motors of all types, until you can find suitable replacements. In fact, Coal powered electrical generating facilities actually use steam to power their large turbines and produce electricity.
While steam can be very powerful, it can also be very dangerous
so use extreme care when working with it. Steam’s temperature is about 220 degrees Fahrenheit and will cause severe burns on contact. Thick leather gloves or heat insulating gloves should be worn anytime you’re handling steam pipes. Hot pipes are not the only danger of working with steam, however.
An improperly designed steam pot or insufficient thickness on pipes can produce an extreme danger of explosions. Be sure any steam pot you build has an emergency valve on it like water heaters have. That will vent off the pressure if it gets too high, thus avoiding any chance of explosion caused by its over-heating. It is a simple little thing but one that is extremely important.
Many hot water heaters have a glass lined, metal tank inside them and can be adapted to serve as a steam pot. Simply devise a way to suspend the metal tank over a fire and fill it with water up to about half way. Never fill it all the way up because you need to leave room for the steam to form and pressure up. In case you didn’t know it, liquid water will not compress, so you must compress the air around it.
Once you have safely constructed a steam pot, you will want to use metal or copper pipes to transfer the steam to where you want to use it. The closer the better, as it’s temperature will drop quickly in uninsulated and exposed pipes. If possible, find some old insulation and wrap It around your pipes to stop them from sweating and losing their pressure.
Just before the point where you want to use the steam, you will want to put a water trap to keep the liquid water from flowing into the turbine you will use to do the work. This can be done by creating a loop in the pipe with a single pipe teeing off of the bottom of the loop with a valve at the bottom to allow you do drain any water that is built up in it from time to time.
A turbine can be made out of many things. Old water pumps off of a vehicle and mounted to a piece of flat steel on the back works great. The spindle where the fan blade once attached will be where you attach a shaft or a pulley wheel and belt to drive whatever it is that you need to drive. You can control the speed by controlling the pressure of the steam applied to it.
Now you’re ready to start working and you are only limited by your imagination and the amount of wood and water you have available. If you’re smart, you will devise a way to recapture the used steam and feed it back into the pot for reuse. This will greatly eliminate the need to keep adding water. You will still want to shut it down and check the water level from time to time. You never want to run a steam pot dry as it will greatly diminish the lifespan of the pot itself.
Do a little research while you still can and learn how to build a steam generator for powering your water pumps as well as hundreds of other devices when the time comes. Living in a post SHTF world will be tough, but with a little creativity and a working knowledge of how to build and use a steam generator, it can be made a lot easier.
Well, that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post so until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared. God Save America! Please don’t forget to get out and vote for Trump as President because he is the only hope America has.
-Sarge-
Good Introductory post to steam power Sarge. Somewhat the same kind of system we use to heat our home’s hot water. It’s a thermosiphon loop connected to our kitchen cook stove. The pressure relief valve is very important as well.
Wood gas. Advantages: No water needed. No dangerous pressure to handle. Can use existing engines, even cars. There are millions combustion engines in the world for free.
I’m just saying that steam is a possibility that people may not have thought of yet. Wood gas is good but unfortunately many people don’t know how to use wood gas. Thanks for the sharing the information, though. 🙂
Great article, Sarge!
Thanks!